It seems important to take a moment to remember that these pictures are individual stories in time. They represent a stage of practice that is wholly contained within itself. Each picture points to both an inspiration in relation to the stage and a challenge. Practicing within the context of each... Read More »

At last the yogi gets a clear glimpse of the Ox.  In this third story, they have seen the potentiality of the true mind.  What this means is that the yogi has a direct experience of the possibility of liberation. It doesn't have to be a big experience. This is important because most early experie... Read More »

As we continue with the Oxherding stories we see in the 2nd picture that our yogi has spotted footprints.  They still haven't seen the ox but knows something is there. Each of these pictures point to a significant stage in the gradual unfolding of awakening. They hold both the liberative aspect o... Read More »

This is the start of a new year and a new blog. I will send one post a month to foreshadow the month's discussion. For those of you who have not come to a sit this year, we will be looking at the 10 Ox-herding Pictures. Each picture comes with a short verse. They represent the struggle we have as... Read More »

This month we will be exploring the 7th link in the cycle of dependent origination – Feeling Tones. Feeling tones are not emotions. They are mental evaluations or tags applied by the mind to experience. They can be random and not necessarily related to the experience. They are of the mind but ar... Read More »

This month we are exploring the 6th link in the cycle of dependent origination – Contact. Contact in it’s simplest form is the connection between a sense door and an object. Practice is often looked at in terms of bare awareness but often this type of practice can seem pretty abstract. It’s hard ... Read More »

I know, another “better late than never” post. This month we will be exploring the fifth link in the cycle of Dependent Origination – the six senses. The six senses are a pretty phenomenal link. All the previous 4 links are, what I would consider, hardwired in us. They mostly occur pre-awareness.... Read More »

I find it to be such a gift to be stuck in the house. The Dhamma nerd in me keeps whispering “We can just talk Dhamma all day? How fortunate for me!” So tonight we are going to continue our exploration into the world of Dependent Origination. This month we’ll be looking at the 4th link – Name and... Read More »

This month we will be exploring the third link in the chain of dependent origination or dependent co-arising – Consciousness.  We begin by recognizing that ignorance (or blindness/confusion) motivates our mental formations (or impulsive and intentional actions/habits) which in turn motivates cons... Read More »

This month we will be exploring the next link in the chain of Dependent Origination – Mental Formations (MFs).  MFs are connected to ignorance from the past and consciousness in the present. They are the volitional impulses, habits, assumptions and fabrications of the mind and are developed from ... Read More »

This week I will talk about the main, most fundamental thing about ignorance. Ignorance is the foundation of how we end up in suffering. The root of ignorance is not seeing greed, hatred and delusion. And so, everything we are trying to see is greed, hatred and delusion. In the West we think in t... Read More »

This year we will be exploring the Dhamma of Dependent Origination. It is often considered a complex topic that’s hard to grasp but this isn’t necessarily true. Buddha taught this topic to anyone and everyone regardless of status, class, education level and/or family. He once said that whoever s... Read More »